It is certainly festival season in Champaign-Urbana, and up next is the Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival. The event will take place in downtown Champaign this Friday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Saturday from noon to 2 a.m. Afraid you might have trouble deciding what to eat? We suggest that you bring an appetite and read on about what to expect from some of this year’s vendors.
Leah Bodine of Louie’s Dixie Kitchen
(1104 N. Cunningham Ave., Urbana)
» buzz: First off, what will you be serving at the festival? Why are you excited about what you’ve selected and how does it represent your restaurant?
» Leah Bodine: We will be selling pulled pork, mac and cheese, alligator bites and sandwiches, red beans and rice and barbecue nachos. These items are our signature dishes at festivals and in the restaurant. This year will be the first year we will be selling alligator.
Used with permission from Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival and Fluid Events.
» buzz: What’s unique about the food you serve? Why does it stand out among other places like it?
» LB: As far as we know, we are the only restaurant in the CU area serving alligator dishes.
» buzz: From what I gather, you started Louie’s pretty recently. What has the journey of starting a new restaurant been like? What inspired you to create a barbecue place?
» LB: Louie’s Dixie Kitchen was originally name Louie’s BBQ as a catering company. When the opportunity arose to take the business from a catering company to a restaurant, it was renamed Louie’s Dixie Kitchen due to the Mississippi-style barbecue we do. This style of barbecue is slow roasted, not smoked like other places in the area. Since there are several barbecue restaurants in the area, we chose to add the Dixie Kitchen cuisine instead of focusing solely on barbecue. This is why we serve menu items such as alligator, oysters, Cajun and Creole recipes.
» buzz: On your website, you say that you consider Louie’s BBQ a family-oriented restaurant. What does this mean to you? How is that an important part of your presence in the community?
» LB: We do consider ourselves family oriented due to the setting and atmosphere of the restaurant. Guests tell us it feels like home and very comfortable. Our dishes are purchased from local Goodwill, Habitat Restore and Salvation Army stores, so all the plates, coffee, mugs and bowls do not match. This is one of our ways of giving back to the community.
—Muriel Kelleher
Mike Potts of Holy Smoke BBQ
(4109 Englewood Dr., Champaign)
» buzz: What will you be vending at the event?
» Mike Potts: Pulled pork and chicken sandwiches, pulled pork and chicken nachos, quarter-pound hot dogs, brats, cheesy taters, black bean salad.
» buzz: Why should someone choose your stand?
Used with permission from Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival and Fluid Events.
» MP: A life-long family love of great barbecue that turned into a family business specializing in catering and special events, pulled pork and chicken using our own dry spice rub smoked low and slow over hickory wood to perfection. Try a delicious sandwich or our outrageously good nachos! Big all-beef hot dogs and yummy brats grilled just right with all the fixings. Homemade side dishes along with our signature mild, zesty or hot barbecue sauce.
» buzz: Why do you enjoy doing events such as Brews, Blues and BBQ?
» MP: We went to the first Blues, Brews and BBQ in 2008 and decided the first festival Holy Smoke BBQ would serve in 2009 would be Blues, Brews and BBQ. We had so much fun working with Fluid Events and seeing all the people who love great barbecue, beer and excellent blues music. We have seen Blues, Brews and BBQ grow to the fantastic event it is, and Holy Smoke BBQ has grown right along with them. Looking forward to 2013!
—Carrie McMenamin
Tim Bader of Volcanic Peppers
(Omaha, Neb.)
» buzz: What will Volcanic Peppers be vending at Blues, Brews and BBQ?
» TB: We will be sampling and selling our Lava hot sauces and barbecue sauces, Volcano Dusts, spice blends and fiery snacks such as our Volcanic Sweet Scorpion Peanuts.
» buzz: Why should people choose your food? What makes it unique?
» TB: Our products are a must-buy because we produce them ourselves with strict attention paid to quality, flavor and heat. Many hot products these days are simply designed to be hot as a novelty. We work hard to provide quality and flavorful products using the best hot to super hot peppers.
» buzz: Which product is your personal favorite and why?
» TB: That is pretty tough, but I would say it is Volcano Dust 3, which is a blend of smoked and dehydrated super hot peppers. It is my favorite because it allows you to add a lot of heat and tasty pepper flavor to anything and it is easy to take with you.
Used with permission from Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival and Fluid Events.
» buzz: What are some of the hottest peppers you use as ingredients in some of your products?
» TB: The hottest peppers we use are the Bhut Jolokia (ghost pepper), the Trinidad Scorpion (currently listed as the hottest pepper) and the 7-Pot peppers. We make spice blends, pepper blends and sauces out of all of these peppers.
» buzz: Are there any challenges you want to send out to the braver consumers at Blues, Brews and BBQ?
» TB: We have products that can appeal to all spice levels. Come try our full line-up and you will be sure to walk away with a fire in your mouth from our all natural products. The super hot peppers are plenty hot and full of flavor, no need to use poor tasting extract sauces to get the burn you love. We are looking forward to firing up the Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival.
—Quang Trang
Sharon Davis-Devine aka Mamma D of Mamma D’s Smokehouse
(430 Maple St., Weldon, Ill.)
» buzz: What will Mamma D’s Smokehouse be vending at the event?
» SDD: Smoked pulled pork and smoked beef brisket tastes and sandwiches plus iced tea and lemonade.
Used with permission from Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival and Fluid Events.
» buzz: Why should someone choose Mamma D’s Smokehouse?
» SDD: With our unique blend of herbs and spices, Mamma D’s smoked meats are much more flavorful than any other barbecue restaurant available in central Illinois.
» buzz: What makes a barbecue a memorable barbecue in the summer time?
» SDD: Summer time is barbecue time. Whether you grill at home or come to Mamma D’s Smokehouse, there is nothing better then barbecued meat to make your summer complete and to spend quality time with friends and family.
» buzz: What would you say are the top three meals Mamma D’s Smokehouse is recognized for?
» SDD: Our most popular meals are smoked baby back ribs, smoked beef brisket platters and smoked pulled pork platters, all served with fresh-cut french fries, sweet potato chips or a homemade side.
—Yele Ajayi
Knute Landry of Brienzo’s Wood Fired Pizza
(based out of Peoria)
» buzz: What will you guys be vending at the event?
» Knute Landry: We hand craft made-to-order real Italian pizzas via our Italian mobile brick oven.
» buzz: Why should someone choose your food?
KL: We offer an alternative not typically seen in this kind of venue. You can get a barbecue sandwich almost any time, but chances are folks will never have the chance to experience a taste of Italy like we bring. Our award-winning Italian pies have been featured in every advertising medium, which includes TV, video, radio broadcasts, food/wine magazines.
» buzz: What would you say is the most memorable item that you cater?
KL: The catering page of our website lists some of our specialty artisan pizzas, most notably the Carnivore with Italian hand-cut sausage (pepperoni), hand-ground Italian sausage and savory applewood smoked bacon!
» buzz: On your web page, it says that the recipes of Brienzo’s Wood Fired Pizza were born from your grandmother’s cookbook. How are your dishes authentically Italian compared to other pizzerias, and do you prepare them in a certain way that translates to customers that they are uniquely from Brienza, Italy?
KL: I like that you’ve done your homework. Most pizzerias don’t authenticate real Italian pizza. They use canned sauce, dough that isn’t certified Italian and their cooking method isn’t in a wood-burning oven. These are three key components that make our pizza real Italian. We use caputo flour, san marzano tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and the original cooking method, our Italian-made wood fired oven, which, if cooking real Italian pizzas, must reach temperatures of 900 degrees.
» buzz: Champaign is home to many excellent restaurants. What are you most excited about for this event compared to the other various ones that you attend throughout Illinois?
KL: We haven’t done any events in eastern Illinois as of yet but are excited to bring a unique one-of-a-kind product to the folks of Champaign-Urbana. We have done various music festivals, but we are looking forward to experiencing what Champaign has to offer. We hope the “little Italian” in everyone comes out Friday and Saturday. Although the food has a barbecue focus, why not try what we believe is fabulous Italian pizza made the authentic old way of cooking? We will feature our famous Carnivore pie, our hand-ground Italian sausages and sliced pepperoni, our two-cheese pie and lastly, for those who don’t do meat, our healthy option: vegetarian special!
—Grace Kwon
Lindsay Rasner of Po’ Boys
(202 E. University Ave., Urbana)
» buzz: What will your restaurant be vending at the Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival?
Lindsay Rasner: We will be serving a pulled pork sandwich, Polish sausage sandwich, smoked rib tips and french fries!
» buzz: Why should someone choose your food? What makes it stand out from other vendors?
LR: Our freshly cooked meats, with our signature dry rub, and fries are of the highest quality. The barbecue sauce is unique and very tasty (not to mention the fun crew serving it)!
» buzz: What item off your menu would you suggest to customers? Why?
LR: We recommend the tips! They’re tender and delicious. But, if you’re coming in to the restaurant to see us, try the smoked chicken wings. They can’t be beat.
» buzz: Your restaurant allows customers to write on the tables with crayons. What is the reasoning behind this? Doesn’t it get messy?
LR: We encourage artists of all ages to draw on our paper table covers and select some of the art to post on our walls for all to enjoy. Not messy … artistic!
—Shawn Laudencia
Kelly Jo Lamb of Piato Catering
(300 S. Broadway Ave., Urbana)
» buzz: What will you be vending at the event?
Kelly Jo Lamb: We will be serving our pulled pork sliders, Modelo beer, marinated chicken nachos topped with pineapple salsa and Hawaiian barbecue sauce, open-faced beer bread brisket sandwich with red wine sauce, cilantro and red pepper cole slaw and herb and dijon potato salad.
» buzz: Why should someone choose your stand?
KJL: We might have a small menu, but we think our choices are a bit more out of the box than everybody else. We make our own signature barbecue sauces, everything is homemade … beer bread, red wine sauce, fresh pineapple salsa, cole slaw and potato salad. Every single one of our menu items were huge sellers at the Homer Soda Festival.
» buzz: Why do you enjoy doing events such as Blues, Brews and BBQ?
KJL: It’s a great way to meet people and show what we can do. I hear a lot of people say that they have never heard of us before, and we’ve been around for six years. We are kind of hidden, since our location is in Lincoln Square Mall, and this is a great way for people to come check us out.
» buzz: What dish do you recommend for someone who has never eaten Piato before?
KJL: On Fridays, you have to come in and try our homemade beer-battered cod sandwich. It’s served with our cilantro and red pepper cole slaw and fries and it’s the bomb! But be sure you’ve got an empty belly, otherwise there’s no way you can shove all this down. I also recommend coming out to one of our charity buffets that is held once a month. Even though we only charge $5 (and we hope people will donate more to the charity), we put out a huge spread. We serve anywhere from 300-600 people for the buffets and it’s a great way to give back to the community.
—Carrie McMenamin
Brent Chester of Chester’s BBQ
(302 S. Neil St., Champaign)
» buzz: How long have you been open?
Brent Chester: Chester’s BBQ started as a competition barbecue team that gained popularity amongst friends and family, so we decided to take the next logical step and cater to the masses starting this last May.
» buzz: What will you be vending at the event?
BC: We will be serving applewood smoked sausages, our award-winning pulled pork sliders, applewood smoked Italian beef sliders and barbecue nachos. We will also be serving full-size sandwiches for the really hungry people. Our goal is to offer the best product possible and to show people how good barbecue should taste!
—Leila Shinn
Go to bluesbrewsandbbqfest.com/ for more information on vendors, music and more!